


The Firebending Masters

by Ellarosey



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 18:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21202373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellarosey/pseuds/Ellarosey
Summary: Short story on The Firebending Masters. Please R&R. I DO NOT OWN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER!





	1. One Step Back

Chapter One: One Step Back  
Zuko’s Pov

“I know you're nervous, but remember, firebending in it of itself is not something to fear.”

Aang let out a heavy sigh, “Okay, not something to fear.”

“But if you don't respect it, IT’LL CHEW YOU UP AND SPIT YOU OUT LIKE AN ANGRY KOMODO RHINO!!”

“Ahhhh!!” 

I just rolled my eyes at his response. “Now show me what you've got. Any amount of fire you can make.”

Aang inhaled nervously and tried to firebend, but only a small cloud of smoke came out. He chuckled nervously, “Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration?”

“Good idea. You might wanna take a couple steps back.” I said as I prepared myself to let out a blast. 

He took a few steps back. I took a deep breath and sent a blast toward the open space. What came out?

Nothing

Not even a single spark. 

“What was that?! That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!!”

Aang smiled slightly and shrugged. “I thought it was ... nice.” 

I scolded as I tried firebending again, but again and again nothing happened. 

“Why is this happening?!” I yelled out in frustration. 

“Maybe it's the altitude?”

“Yeah, that could be.” But I knew that wasn’t it. 

I tried again, but every single time I tried it got worse and worse. An hour later again nothing happened, and I was quickly losing my patience. 

“Just breathe, and…” Nothing, absolutely nothing. 

“That one kind of felt hot.” 

“Don't patronize me!! You know what it's supposed to look like!!

“Sorry, Sifu Hotman.” 

“And stop calling me that!!”

Suddenly Sokka walked toward us while he was eating an apple. He then sat down near us, and smirked. 

“Hey jerks, mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerkbending?” He then burst out laughing.

“Get out of here!!” I yelled as I grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward.

“Okay, okay take it easy. I was just kiddin' around.” He stood up and turned around, but then he started laughing as he adjusted his shirt. “Jerkbending,” he smirked, “still got it.”

“SHUT UP SOKKA!” 

The rest of the day I kept trying even the simplest firebending moves, but to no avail. When I finally stopped the sun was completely set behind the sky. l then sat down by the edge of the temple, and I tried to think about what was going on. But I didn’t have the slightest clue. I glanced at everyone who were sitting in the courtyard by a fire. 

“I should be like that fire.” I mumbled to myself. 

I walked over to them. I had to tell them what’s going on. But then what? It’s not like they’re going to find another firebending master overnight. 

“Listen everybody, I've got some pretty bad news… I've lost my firebending.”

“How’s that even possible?” Ava asked, “You are either born a bender or you’re not. And you cannot get rid of it and you cannot achieve it. There is no middle ground when it comes to bending.”

“I honestly don’t know, but it’s not there. I don’t know why...I just...I don’t know!”

Suddenly I heard Katara laughing. I glared at her with an annoyed expression. How could she laugh at a time like this? 

“I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know, how it would've been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago?” 

The other kids began to laugh along with her. 

I rolled my eyes and glanced at the stars, “Well, ....it's not lost. It's just ... weaker for some reason.”

“Maybe you're not as good as you think you are.” She muttered. 

Sokka began to laugh, “Yeah, maybe it's because you’re still a jerk and you’re still working on your jerkbending.” 

Ava scolded. “Hey knock it off you two!” 

“Yeah,” said Aang, “We’ve all seen him in action, and he alone took care of Combustion Man.”

I tried to think of what made my Firebending stronger all those years back. I know it took me a lot longer to learn it then most kids, but if I remember correctly it really took a drastic change along with my anger. It went from a small spark to a deadly blast almost overnight. If that made it stronger then what made it weaker? 

I glanced back at them.” Maybe it's because I changed sides.” 

“That's ridiculous!” Snapped Katara. “I mean when I thought you changed sides back in Ba Sing Sei you didn’t have any problems firebending now did you?”

Aang shook his head. “I don't know, maybe it isn't as unlikely as you think Katara. Maybe your firebending comes from rage and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to.”

“Sooo, all we need to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough!” Sokka happily exclaimed.

Just as he was about to poke me with his sword's hilt, I grabbed it from him. “Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.” I said as I glared at him. 

“Okay okay, just relax.” But then he mumbled, “Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

I took a deep breath, “Look, even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way.”

“You're gonna need to learn to draw your firebending from a different source.” Ava said. “I recommend the original source.”

“How's he supposed to do that?” Sokka laughed. “By jumping into a volcano?”

She rolled her eyes and looked back at me with a serious expression. “You need to go back to whatever the original source of firebending is.”

“So, is it jumping into a volcano!”

“No,” she firmly said, “for example the original earthbenders were badgermoles. One day when I was little, there was a snowstorm. I was so scared I ran away and hid in a cave. I thought I was going to die, but that's where I met them. They saved me from freezing to death, and without them I would be dead. It didn’t take me long to realize that they were blind just like me, so we understood each other. Until then I never met anyone else like me. I was able to learn earthbending not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earthbenders, it was their way of interacting with the world. And now it is mine as well.”

“That's amazing Ava!! I learned from the monks, but the original airbenders were the sky bison.” He leaned back to look at Appa, “Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime, buddy!”

Appa growled in approval. 

“But for firebending the-

“The original firebenders were the dragons, and they're extinct.” 

“Wait what do you mean?” Asked Aang, “Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid.”

“Well, they aren't around anymore, okay?!”

“Okay, okay. I'm sorry!”

“But maybe there's another way.” I thought as I walked to the edge of the temple and looked out in the distance. I tried to think about the history of the dragons before everything happened.

“The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors.” 

Aang suddenly approached me. “Sun Warriors? Well, I know they weren't around when I was a kid.”

“No, they died off thousands of years ago. But their civilization wasn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins.”

“It's like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present.”

“So, what?” Sokka asked. “Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?”

“More or less. Either I find a new way to firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher.” 

“Well that’s just fantastic!” Sokka statistically said. “What’s next? Oh let me think, hmmm…..maybe the War is just something the Firenation made up, because they just love to brag about how powerful they are!” 

I scolded. “We’ll leave tomorrow at dawn.” I walked away in silence, but then I stopped and looked back at Aang. “Be prepared, you never know what could happen next.”


	2. The Temple

Chapter Two: The Temple  
Zuko’s Pov

“We've been riding for hours! I don't know why, but I thought this thing would be a lot faster!”

Appa let out a growl, and Aang started to laugh.

“Appa's right, Zuko. In our group, typically we start our missions with a more up-beat attitude.”

“I can't believe this.” I mumbled.

“Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it.”

I rolled my eyes, “We’ll see.” 

An hour later we approached the ancient ruins. It was so much bigger than I was told in school. The temple stretched for miles, and all the structures were made of ancient sandstone. Vines and leaves covered all the structures indicating that no one has come here in years. 

“Wow!” Aang said in amazement. “I wonder why no one would come here.”

“Why would they?” I scolded. “Everyone’s busy fighting in a war that barely makes any sense.”

He ignored my comment. “Even though these buildings are ancient than the Air temples.”

“There’s something eerily familiar about them. I can tell the Fire Sages' temples are somehow descended from these.”

“Okay, so we learned something about architecture. Hopefully, we'll learn something about firebending too. The past can be a great teacher.”

Suddenly Aang tripped on a wire, revealing a path of spikes coming up from holes. He nearly fell on the spikes, but blew a blast of air which pushed him up. He landed on the other side, but he lost his balance and almost fell back. But he quickly managed to regain balance.

“Zuko, I think the past is trying to kill me!!”

I knelt down to inspect the spikes, “I can't believe it. This trap must be centuries old and it still works.”

“There's probably a lot more. Maybe this means we shouldn't be here.”

I took two steps back and ran toward the wall adjoining the path. I landed on the wall before jumping on the other side of the spikes, and I didn’t lose my balance.

I dusted some dirt on my shirt. “Where's that up-beat attitude you were talking about?” I smirked, “Besides, people don't make traps unless they've got something worth protecting.”

We later approached a building with an ancient carving of a person being surrounded by two dragons who are breathing fire at him.

“This seems promising. Though I'm not sure what this tells us about the original source of firebending.” 

“They look pretty angry to me.” I muttered.

“I thought the dragons were friends with the Sun Warriors.” 

“Well, they had a funny way of showing it.” I said as I walked away. 

Aang stopped me. “Zuko, something happened to the dragons in the last hundred years. Something you're not telling me.”

“My great-grandfather Sozin happened.”

“What do you mean?” 

I started to walk toward a bridge as Aang followed me. “He started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory. There were the ultimate firebenders. And if you could conquer one, your firebending talents would become legendary and you'd earn the honorary title, Dragon. The last great dragon was conquered long before I was born,” I paused, “by my uncle.”

“Wait but I thought your uncle was ... I don't know, good?”

“He had a complicated past. Family tradition, I guess. Let's just move on.”

We approached a courtyard that was blocked off by a gate with a sunstone above it. Aang dropped his staff, and ran to the gates and unsuccessfully tried to open them. 

“It's locked up!”

“Weird,” I thought, “no one has lived here in centuries. It has to be hiding something important.” 

I glanced around and saw a column that had the same sunstone as the gate, and the light from the stone was beaming on a circular carving on the ground. 

“Wait.” I took a step back and looked down where the light was pointing to. Suddenly the realization hit me. This wasn’t any ordinary courtyard.

“It's a celestial calendar. Just like the Fire Sages have in their temples. I bet that sunstone opens the door, but only when sunlight hits at just the right angle…..On the solstice.”

“Monkeyfeathers! The solstice again? We can't wait here that long!!”

“No, we can't.” I pulled out my swords. “But we might be able to speed time up. Let's see if we can outsmart the sunstone.” I placed my sword on the light with an angle, causing it to reflect back into the gate. 

“Nothing's happening.” 

“Come on...come on.” I tried to keep the light steady hoping it would work. 

Suddenly the ground began to shake, and the gate opened to reveal an ancient room surrounded by statues.

“You know Zuko, I don't care what everyone else says about you. You're pretty smart.”

I smiled. “Thanks.” 

Aang walked inside the dark room and looked around it. Suddenly he gasped.

“Relax, they're just statues ...hopefully.” 

Aang rushed over to a statue and read something on it.

“It says this is something called the Dancing Dragon.” 

I rolled my eyes and walked away. Hopefully I will find some more clues in this room. 

“Why are there statues here?” I thought, “And why are they placed in certain order? Something’s going on here and I don’t like it.”

“Zuko get over here! I want you to dance with me!”

“What?!” 

“Just do it!” He insisted. 

I groaned. “Okay.”

“Let's just follow the steps of the statues.” He quickly stood in the position of the first statue. I did the same, grudgingly.

“This isn’t going to work.” 

But when I imitated the first statue’s position, the plate I stepped on moved. 

“Woah, I didn’t expect this.” 

“Don't you see? These aren't dance moves. These statues are giving us a lesson. I think this is some kind of Sun Warrior firebending form!”

“This better teach us some really good firebending.”

The last moves had us put our arms in the same direction as each other. Suddenly a column rose from the ground. It held a golden, egg-shaped sunstone. We stood in front of it unknowing what to do, but it seemed as if it was calling to us.

“Hurray! But wait, what exactly is that?”

I ran over toward it. “It's some kind of mystical gemstone.” 

He quickly ran up to me. “Well, don't touch it!” 

“Why not?” I asked

“Remember what happened out there with those spikes? I'm just very suspicious of giant glowing gems sitting on pedestals.”

I ignored and picked the sunstone, “It feels almost alive.”

I tried to put the sunstone back, but suddenly a geyser of viscous slime erupted out from the pedestal. It shoved me toward the grates in the ceiling, sticking me there.

“Oh no, it's another trap!” 

The gates closed and the room quickly started filling up with the substance. 

I tried to break free, but nothing I did worked. “Ugh!!” I yelled, “I can't pull free! It's like some kind of glue!!”

Aang jumped across the slime and grabs his staff on the other side of the room. He climbed on a statue's head, and jumped onto another statues head and airbended a gust of strong wind toward me. It wasn’t strong enough and it only changed the direction I was stuck in, and he jumped to the grates I was now facing. 

He was trying to pull his hands from the grates, but with no luck. “I can't move! Zuko, do something!”

“Me?! I can't move either!!”

The slime reached the top of the temple and pushed both of us against the grates until we were both fully stuck, but suddenly it stopped.

“What now?” He asked.

“I don’t know. But at least we have air, maybe if we stay calm, we can figure a way out of this.”

But we didn’t. We stayed stuck there for hours. When night came, we both were exhausted and desperate to get out of here. 

“You had to pick up the glowing egg, didn't you?”

“At least I made something happen! If it were up to you, we'd never have made it past the courtyard!!”

“Yeah, but at least we won’t be stuck if we left!! And it was your idea to come here in the first place!”

“You little-

“Help!!!” He cried. 

“Who are you yelling to? Nobody's lived here for centuries.”

“Well, what do you think we should do?” He asked. 

“I don’t know, think about our place in the universe?”

I looked up to the stars and thought about Song. I wonder how she was doing, she's probably back home by now. She did say she was leaving after the trip. I just hope that she’s okay. 

“Who is down there?!” An angry voice yelled.

We both looked up and to our astonishment the Sun Warriors that were thought to be dead centuries ago, were staring at us with angry expressions.


	3. The Last of Their Kind

Chapter Three: Last of Their Kind  
Zuko’s Pov

The Sun Warrior chief approached us when we were free from the trap. His angered expression looked as if it was going to kill us right then and there.

“For trying to take our sunstone you must be severely punished!” 

“We didn't come here to take your sunstone.” I said. “We came here to find the ancient origin of all firebending.”

“Yeah, right.” One of the Sun Warriors growled, “They are obviously thieves, here to steal Sun Warrior treasures!!” 

“Please,” Aang pleaded, “I don't normally play this card, but ... I'm the Avatar.”

They still didn’t change their reactions, and they still looked at us with angered expressions. They wanted us out of here now. 

“Please, just hear us out.”

“My name is Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Or at least I used to be. Listen, I know my people have distorted the ways of firebending, to be fueled by anger and rage. But now I want to learn the true way, the original way. When we came here, I never imagined the Sun Warrior's civilization was secretly alive. I am truly humbled to be in your presence. Please, teach us.”

The Sun Warrior Chief approached us. “If you wish to learn the ways of the Sun, you must learn them from the masters, Ran and Shaw.”

“Ran and Shaw? There are two of them?” Aang asked. 

The Sun Warrior Chief looked at Aang with a serious expression. “When you present yourself to them, they will examine you.” He then turned around and glanced at me. “They'll read your hearts, your souls, and your ancestry.”

“Ancestry.” I thought. “My entire bloodline has caused so much pain and misery to thousands of people. What will happen if they don’t deem me worthy? Then how will I help this War end?”

“If they deem you worthy, they'll teach you. He took a step toward me and looked me dead straight in the eye. If they don't, you'll be destroyed on the spot!” 

I was determined to get to the bottom of whatever this is. I wasn’t going to let these masters tell us what to do. 

“We accept the challenge.” Those Masters can burn us to the ground, but there’s no way that we’re going back when we came this far. 

I glanced at Aang who had a worried expression on his face. 

“We’ll be okay.” I told him. 

He took a deep breath. “I’m not afraid.”

The chief nodded as he led us to a temple that held an immense fire. 

“If you're going to see the masters, you must bring them a piece of the Eternal Flame. This fire is the very first one. It was given to man by the dragons. We have kept it going for thousands of years.

I was surprised. They kept it going all these years? I don't believe it. I wonder if life was different for them, and I wonder what was the same. Was there even bending like there is today?

“You will each take a piece of it to the masters. To show your commitment to the sacred art of firebending.”

Aang seemed unsure. “Umm, Mister Sun Chief Sir, yeah, I'm not a firebender yet. Couldn't my friend here carry my fire for me?”

“No!” He firmly responded. “It is your responsibility to carry your own fire.”

He turned back to face the fire. He took a part of the Eternal Flame and split the fire on his palm into two parts and then turned to us. 

“This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy. You must maintain a constant heat.” He looked at Aang. “The flame will go out if you make it too small.” He then looked at me. “If you make it too big, you might lose control.”

He handed me the flame. I glanced at Aang as he was struggling to take it. 

“I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous.” He took a deep breath and took the flame. Suddenly his expression changed. “It's like a little heartbeat.

The Fire Chief had a ghost of a smile on his face. “Fire is life, not just destruction.” Suddenly his expression changed. “You will take your flames up there. The cave of the masters is beneath that rock.” He pointed to a mountain on the other side of the temple.


	4. The Test

Chapter Four: The Test  
Zuko’s Pov

“Hurry up.” I said to Aang as we climbed up the cliff. 

“I can't.” He glanced at his flame, “If I walk too fast, my flame will go out.”

“Your flame's gonna go out because it's too small. You're too timid, give it more juice.” 

“But what if I can't control it?” 

“You can do it. I know you can. You're a talented kid.”

Aang smiled as he climbed up another rock, and we were able to reach the top of the clift without any complications. When we approached the temple the Sun Warriors were standing below a case of stairs leading to two caves on both sides of the temple. 

The Sun Warrior Chief approached us.

“I’m surprised you made this far. Most people don’t make it past the gates even.”

“We’re not afraid.” I said. “We’re not going back when we came this far.”

“That’s awfully brave of you. But facing the judgment of the firebending masters will be very dangerous for you. Your ancestors are directly responsible for the dragons' disappearance. The masters might not be so happy to see you.”

“I know I wouldn't be.” Smirked another Sun Warrior.

I scolded, “Don’t you think I know that?” 

“Wait but once they find out I'm the Avatar-

“Have you forgotten that you vanished, allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world?!!” The Sun Warrior Chief roared, “The decline of the dragons is your burden, too!!”

Aang looked down guiltily. “I’m still going through with this.

The Sun Warrior smirked as he turned around and walked to the center of the courtyard and slammed his staff onto the ground. The other two Sun Warriors instantly went into a kneeling position. The chief walked toward us, and took a small portion of our flames and gave it to both of the Sun Warriors who created a circle made of fire around the courtyard. Drums began to play as the circle of fire became more and more intense. But there’s no going back. Not now. Not ever. It’s too late. 

“We could turn back now.” Aang whispered. “We've already learned more about fire than we'd hoped.”

“No, we're seeing this through to the end. We're gonna meet these masters and find out what's so great about them.”

“What if they judge us, and attack us?” 

“Well, we're the Fire Prince and the Avatar. I think we could take these guys in a fight, whoever they are.”

Aang nodded uneasily and took a deep breath. I turned toward the Sun Warrior chief. “Bring 'em out!” I yelled.

“Chanters!” He yelled. 

I glanced at the courtyard as the chanters were beating their drums in a synchronized rhythm. On the other side of the courtyard some of the Sun Warriors were holding the fire circles while others were alternatively rising and bowing.

“What is going on?” Aang asked as he glanced back at them. “Something isn’t right and I don’t like it.”

“We’ll be fine. Just follow my lead and we’ll be alright.”

We walked to the stairs and the Sun Warrior Chief and the other two Warriors stepped aside to let us pass. As we walked up the stairs I knew that they were staring at us, but I didn’t look back. They were only going to distract us from what we needed to do. I glanced back at Aang as he was about to take another back at the Sun Warriors.

I grabbed his hand. “C’mon, it’s too late to look back now!”

He nodded as we made it to the top of the staircase where both of the large caves faced each other. 

“Those who wish to meet the masters, Ran and Shaw, will now present their fire.” 

We turned toward the caves and bowed down with our arms stretched toward the caves.

“Sound the call!” 

The sound of a horn sent a flock of birds scattering through the air, and I heard Aang gasp. 

“Zuko! My fire went out! What should I do?!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Give me some of yours!” He immediately reached for my flame, but I pushed him back. 

“No, just make your own!” 

“I can't!” He said as he reached for my flame again.

“Get some from those warriors. Hurry!!” 

He still didn’t stop.

“Stop cheating off me!” I yelled. 

I glanced down at the Sun Warriors. The chief and another Sun Warrior look at each other in dismay.

“Quit being stingy!”

Aang tried to reach for my flame again. I raised my hand high in the air so he won’t get it. He still didn’t give up. He pulled my arm down which extinguished the flame. We both look at each other. 

Suddenly the ground began to shake. I darted my head at one of the caves.

Two huge golden eyes looked back at me, and before I could even react a red dragon came out, roaring, circling around the bridge.   
Another dragon, a blue dragon came out of the other cave. It joined the other dragon as they circled the bridge.

“These are the masters.” I whispered.


	5. The Firebending Masters

Chapter Five: The Firebending Masters  
Zuko’s Pov

“Still think we can take 'em?” Aang asked. 

“Sshh. I never said that!” 

I knew full well that they could have us burned to a crisp in seconds. They kept circling us, and I knew that our time was running out every second that passed. 

“What should we do?” 

“I don’t know,” I whispered, “just stay calm, and I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

“Oh, here it comes.” I heard one of the Sun Warriors gleefully say. “Any moment now. Dinner for the masters.”

“Quiet, Ham Ghao!” 

“What? Everyone's thinking it.”

What should we do? If we don’t do anything soon, we’ll be dead before we know it. I had to think of something, and quickly. 

“Zuko,” Aang whispered. “I think we're supposed to do the Dragon Dance with them.”

“What? What about this situation makes you think they want us to dance?” 

“Well, I think they want us to do something. Let's just try it.”

“Fine.” 

We went into the first posture of the Dancing Dragon and then changed our posture to the next. Aang spread his arms out as the blue dragon flew behind him. He then turned his arms to his side as the dragon turned as well. Both of the dragons performed the same movements as each other. I lifted my arms up as the red dragon behind me flew up. I then went down and the dragon dived down accordingly. The dragons then flew above the bridge to perform their final move. They then stopped moving and hovered on both sides of the bridge, and stared at us with their golden eyes. 

“Judgment time.” The Chief yelled.

The dragons stared back at us so intensely that each second that passed seemed like an eternity. Suddenly they both opened their mouths. 

This is it, we’re going to die. And we’re going to die now.

Aang let out a scream, and I closed my eyes and held my breath. I expected to be greeted by agonizing pain. I expected my life to flash before my eyes. I expected to die. 

But instead, I saw colors. So many colors. More than I could even imagine. More than I ever knew. It was as if the world stood still and only peace and harmony remained. 

“Wow.” We said in awe.

I thought of everything I thought firebending meant. I was wrong. I was so wrong. Firebending meant so much more than hate and anger. Firebending was…..

“I finally understand.” I whispered.

The dragons flew back to their caves and we stood there still trying to comprehend what just happened, and we slowly made our way down the stairs where the Sun Warrior were.

“Their fire was beautiful. I saw so many colors, colors I never could have imagined.”

“Like firebending harmony.” Aang replied.

“Yes.” The Sun Warrior Chief replied. “They judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of firebending.” 

“I can't believe there are still living dragons. My Uncle Iroh said he faced the last dragon and killed it.”

“So your uncle lied.”

“Actually, it wasn't a total lie. Iroh was the last outsider to face the masters. They deemed him worthy and passed the secret onto him as well.”

“He must have lied to protect them, so no one else would hunt them.” 

“All this time,” Aang said, “I thought firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is ... its energy, and life.” His realization made both of us smile. 

“You’re right, it's like the Sun, but inside of you. Do you guys realize this?” 

“Well, our civilization is called the Sun Warriors ... so yeah.”

“That's why my firebending was so weak before. Because for so many years, hunting you was my drive ... it was my purpose. So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire. But now, I have a new drive. I have to help you defeat my father and restore balance to the world.”

Suddenly something new changed inside of me. It was like a new energy force that I knew wasn't going away anytime soon. Without even thinking l delivered a powerful fireblast that was stronger than any other blast that I probably ever delivered. I grinned, and I instantly knew that for once everything was going in my favor. 

Aang also bent a similar blast, and he smiled at me for his success. That was the first Firebending move I’ve ever seen him do.

“Nice job,” I told Aang as I patted him on the back, “we both still have a long way to go.”

“But I’m ready to face any of the challenges that come our way.” 

The Sun Warrior Chief walked toward us. At first I thought he was going to congratulate us or something, but he had a serious expression on his face. “Now that you have learned the secrets, and you know about our tribe's existence, we have no choice but to imprison you here forever!” 

I was so shocked that I couldn’t even say anything. I glanced over at Aang and he looked like he was about to pass out.

Suddenly the Chief smiled, “Just kidding.” He laughed, but his expression went serious again. “But seriously, don't tell anyone!”

“We won’t, we promise.”

When we arrived back to the Western Air Temple we eagerly showed everyone else the Firebending Form. 

“With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable!” Aang happily said. 

When we performed the last move everyone applauded. 

“Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there.” Sokka said. 

“It's not a dance. It's a firebending form.” 

“We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord.” 

“It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!” I yelled as I approached Sokka who was barely able to keep himself from laughing.

“Oh, yeah?” Asked Katara, “What's your little form called?”

“The Dancing Dragon.” I muttered.

Everyone laughed hysterically at my reply. I closed my eyes and I cringed in embarrassment. But I eventually joined in, and I know I’m ready for anything that was going to come next.


End file.
